


In For the Long Haul

by orphan_account



Series: All Shall Be Well [3]
Category: Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, sliiight mentions of neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 04:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3922852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Liam tries to move on with his life after getting his freedom back, he learns that times have changed and that there's no way to get back what was once lost forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In For the Long Haul

**Author's Note:**

> This took longer than I wanted but it's done now. Phew!

The car is a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire. It’s reliable, well used, and cheap. And it’s all his. It was the first thing he bought as soon as the cuff came off his wrist and the money in his bank account was unfrozen.

It’s been six months since Liam got his freedom back. His sentence lasted five years for reckless endangerment while under the influence. He made up for his mistakes and since then hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol. Five years was long enough to set him straight, and now he has to pick up the pieces.

He’s living with his parents. He’s twenty-fucking-nine years old and he’s living with his parents. Oh well. It could be worse. His parents could have outright rejected him for mucking up his life in the first place, but they welcomed him home with arms thrown wide open and kisses to his cheeks. The family gathering was an emotional affair, but to Liam it was a big relief. He was safe and he was home. That’s all that mattered.

He sleeps in his childhood room and goes about his days by helping his parents with the upkeep of the house and the yard. He looks for jobs when he can, sending out his feeble resume wherever he can.

During his five year absence, Liam’s relationships with his friends have all deteriorated. They’ve all moved on, started families, moved away for better jobs.  Liam did get a two year college degree when he was younger, but now he struggles to fine someone who will take a chance on him. Eventually he lands a job with a construction company and fills his days framing houses. Things get better from there.

He makes money, buys himself a car, and slowly puts his life back together piece by piece. He acclimatizes to his newfound freedom. It’s not as bad as he thought it would be. Without the cuff he stands out less. People don’t stare at him or blatantly ignore him anymore. He’s mostly like them now. Mostly.

His lack of social life concerns him greatly. He’s friendly with the guys at work, but nothing continues after work. Liam can’t get himself to make an effort and go out and enjoy himself. There’s this deep rooted fear and paranoia in the back of his mind that says things like _You’re not good enough to be friends with them. Imagine what would happen if they only knew what you were. You think you deserve this, really?_ So he stays home and helps his mom cook dinner and his dad with the dishes afterwards.

After six months of this monotonous routine, his parents suggest he take a few days off and go visit Chris. It’d be good for you, they say. You two haven’t seen each other in a long time. Go see your niece and nephews.

Liam’s relationship with his family is not as it once was. His parents still love him unconditionally and are doing everything they can to help him. Luke is still the ever doting older brother and father to his young family. But the thing is Liam has missed five years. There’s a gap between then and now, and Liam is feeling more like a stranger than he would like. His nieces and nephews barely know him; see him as a stranger when they come over. Luke is awkward and reserved around him, treating Liam like a skittish animal. Even his parents don’t really know how to treat him. Liam is not the same person he was five years ago, and everyone is struggling to adjust.

And then there’s the issue of Chris. There was an obligatory phone call at the expense of his mother near the beginning of all this. It was a short five minute conversation that basically involved an exchange of pleasantries. He hasn’t seen Chris yet, seeing he lives two hours away and has a busy family life. Now his parents suggest he go see Chris and spend some time with him and his family.

“Like a mini vacation,” his mother says, ushering him outside of the door and towards his car. “It will be good for you. For the both of you. I know he won’t admit it, but he’s missed you terribly. Now you have a nice trip.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

He’s taking two days off of work and coming back home on Sunday. That’ll give him ample enough time to rekindle is relationship with Chris, get to know his children, and get the hell out of there.

* * *

He shows up in the afternoon. Chris’s wife Elsa should be home right now, and Chris will arrive sometime in the afternoon after work. Until then Liam will just set himself up in the guest bedroom and introduce himself to the kids.

He parks his car in the driveway and gets out with his bag of stuff. Chris and Elsa have moved since Liam’s time . . . away. They’ve moved to the suburbs and have a larger, newer house. He goes up to the door and knocks. It’s a few seconds later until the door opens. And then there’s Elsa with two young boys crowding around her.

“Liam,” she says. “Come on in.”

“All right.” He steps inside the house and closes the door. The two boys—twins he’s been told named Sasha and Tristan—look up at him warily, for he’s a stranger to them and stick close to their mother.

Elsa has changed since Liam saw her last. Her hair is shorter, blonder. She seems very much relaxed and settled into married life. She’s certainly made a beautiful home here.

“How was the drive?” Elsa asks.

“It was fine. Not too busy.”

“That’s good. I’ll just show you to your room here and then around the house.”

She leads him upstairs to the guest bedroom furnished only with a bed and a night table and a small closet. He sets his bag on the bed and checks out the room. It’s of modest size, big enough for him for the duration of his stay.

On the way back down to the main floor, Liam asks, “How long have you been here?”

“Almost five years,” she replies. “We moved here just before the twins were born. It’s a good size. India has her own room. The twins’ room will be big enough for years to come, and our room is a good enough size for the both of us. Come on. I’ll show you the basement.”

The basement is basically set up for a children’s play area for if Chris and Elsa have guests. There’s a small couch and a chair and a chest full of toys. There are two doors in the basement. One of them must lead to the furnace room with all the other household appliances.

“What’s that room?” he asks, pointing to the second door. “Washer and dryer?”

“Uh, no,” Elsa replies, sounding unsure. “That’s, um. That’s Tom’s bedroom.”

“Tom? Who’s Tom?”

* * *

Turns out, Tom is a middle-aged Brit who lives with them. The way the children react around him seems like he’s been a part of the family for a long time. They crawl all over him when he comes in the door, holding India’s hand having just gotten her from the bus stop. Tom takes off his shoes and greets the twins, taking off India’s jacket. Elsa goes up to him and gives him a very familiar hug. Liam waits in the kitchen with a mug of coffee.

He doesn’t like this. Why did he come here? Why didn’t he parents tell him that there is someone living with Chris and Elsa? Who is this guy anyway?

Tom and Elsa—and the kids because it’s snack time—enter the kitchen. Liam takes a few steps back, suddenly feeling like he’s being boxed in or he’s intruding on a stranger’s home. Really, they are all strangers to him. He knows Elsa well enough, but he’s been gone for five years. A lot can change in that time.

“Oh, Tom!” Elsa says. “I want you to meet Liam, Chris’s younger brother.”

Tom looks up at Liam and smiles. “Liam,” he says, accent smooth and foreign. “I’ve heard so much about you. I hope your trip was well.”

He comes forward to shake Liam’s hand, and Liam reciprocates while replying, “Yes. It was fine. Thanks. Uh, it’s Tom, right?”

“Yes. Tom. Tom Hiddleston.”

“And, uh, how did you come to live Chris and Elsa? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, um. I was their slave.”

“And now you just live with them?”

“Yes.”

Liam blows at the steam from his coffee before taking a sip. “All right then.”

This is certainly going to be an interesting visit.

* * *

Chris gets home at five and sweeps up his kids in powerful arms. There’s a lot of squealing and giggling. Liam is happy for his brother. Chris was always a very loving type with a very big heart. He looked after Liam like a hawk since the day Liam was brought back from the hospital. Chris was the one who was the most involved in the family. Luke may have been the oldest and acted as the moral compass for the two younger boys, but Chris was the one that helped their parents out with the household chores with the least prompting.

Seeing Chris covered in three kids is one of the most natural things Liam can imagine. Chris has a nice home here and has made the most of his life. He’s doing well. Then why is Liam here? It only seems like he’s going to mess everything up with his problems. He’s the problem child. Always has been. He got into shit he shouldn’t have because his parents had their attention on his brothers, who were at different stages in life considering the age gap between the two oldest and the youngest. He never blamed his parents. It’s just that when people weren’t looking, Liam would do something he probably shouldn’t have. Was it for attention? Was it just for the fun of it? Liam can’t really decide what his reasoning was for most things anymore.

Then Chris turns to Liam, and Liam feels so uncomfortable by the presence of his own brother that he thinks this whole visit was a mistake. He should just pack up and go home. He should just forget about this. He should just—

“Hey, Liam.”

It’s the way Chris says it that stops Liam’s train of thought.

“Hey,” he says.

And then Chris is right in front of him and just hugs him close and it feels good again. It feels right. The three of them have, at some point, been at odds with each other, but every time they have always made up. Really, the three of them had always been close. They could go to each other for advice or with questions. They could always rely on each other. And in this moment Liam realizes how much he missed his brothers.

“It’s good to see you,” Chris says when he pulls away.

“Yeah, well it’s good to be back.”

* * *

Dinner is an awkward affair on Liam’s end. The three of  _them—_ because Liam is  _definitely_ sensing something between the three but he just can’t be sure yet—are talking about their days while they cook dinner. Liam is basically watching the kids and getting to know his nephews and niece. Sasha and Tristan—he still can’t tell them apart—have warmed up to him enough to try and play with him. India is still wary of him. She’s at that age where she’s shy with all strangers.

Liam sits by and watches as the three finish making dinner, set the table, and get the kids into their seats. It seems like they have a good system. There’s one child for the each of them, so dinner time must not be as stressful as before. Liam is served his food and is seated by Tom, which he finds to be a bit odd considering he doesn’t know anything about the guy and feels rather out of place sitting next to him.

Tom is a mystery. Liam has been told absolutely nothing about this guy. That begs the question of do his parents know about this? About this man living in Chris’s house and acting as part of the family? He seems like a genuinely nice guy. The kids love him. He acts like an old family friend bordering on surrogate uncle. Liam sees the edge of the slave tattoo peeking out of his shirt: a thin black 2. Liam is curious. He wants to know everything about Tom, because who wouldn’t? An ex-slave living with a family who bought him? How does that happen? How did he get so lucky with this?

Then Liam realizes he’s been staring and drops his gaze to his plate. No one notices. They’re all too preoccupied with feeding the kids or the threads of conversation floating around.

“So, Liam,” Elsa says. “What have you been up to recently?”

Liam shrugs. “Not much. I’m thinking of getting an apartment soon. I have the funds.”

“You have a job?” Chris asks.

“Yeah. I frame houses. It’s steady. Pays well enough.”

“How long do you plan on staying there?”

“As long as I can. It’s not like I’ve got anything else going on for me.” He doesn’t mean for it to come out so bitter, but that’s the truth. It’s not like he has much of a social life. He has no girlfriend, no future prospects to begin a family. He’s starting over and he’s almost thirty. That’s the truth.

“It’s good that you have a job then,” Tom says. “It gives you options.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Liam picks at his food and remains silent for the rest of the night.

* * *

Liam is taking liberty of the Netflix in the living room while the kids are being put down for bed. So for the time being he’s alone, texting his mom to let her know how his trip is going. She’s become a bit overbearing since his return, but he doesn’t mind. Being gone for five years has made him appreciate his family.

He puts it on a bit thickly in his texts for her sake.

\-- _Everything’s fine. i’m all settled in. it’s nice out here. will talk to you more in the morning!_

Everything is not all right. At least, not like it should be. Liam feels like the odd man out. The three obviously have their own routine, and he’s just here as a visitor, a third (or rather) fourth wheel, a freeloader.

When his parents first suggested the idea to him, Liam thought it might be a good idea to take some time to spend with Chris and get to know his extended family some more. He thought it would be relaxing during the day, playing with the twins, travelling the city just for the hell of it, and a quiet evening where he and Chris could watch some TV and talk about current events. Just like he never left. That’s he wanted, he thinks. He just wants to forget about that whole part of his life ever happened. The slavery part. The _extended community service_ part.

Eventually, the three come down the stairs. Liam hears them muttering and whispering, then Chris comes into the living room and settles on the couch.

“Is bedtime an elaborate ritual now?” Liam asks.

“It is when you have three kids,” Chris replies. “It’s not so bad. We’ve got a good routine. It just takes a while to get the twins settled. And India likes it when Tom reads her a bedtime story, so he’s the one who always tucks her in.”

“Seems like this Tom guy just fits right in then.”

“He’s been here for a while now.”

“Yeah? How long?”

“Five years.”

It’s the casual way the Chris says it that Liam becomes suspicious. First of all, he doesn’t know how Chris and Elsa came into possession of Tom. And second, he doesn’t know why they decided to keep him around after he was freed. But he intends to find out.

“So I have to ask,” he says, and Chris turns to him. “Like, what is the deal with him?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, like, he’s a stranger living in your house, acting as uncle to the kids, and it’s just . . . you know.”

Chris sits up. “Did mom and dad never mention this to you?”

“Mention what?”

Chris sighs and sits forward. Liam pauses his movie—he wasn’t even that into it to begin with—and waits expectantly for the answer he’s been waiting for.

“I’m not sure how much mom and dad have told you about the past five years, so I’m just going to start from the beginning,” says Chris. “I was in a car crash a few years back, and it was bad: the car was totalled, I had a broken leg, and it was just a hug mess afterwards. So to make it easier for me while I was stuck at home, my insurance company sent me a slave. They sent me Tom.”

“So you kept him?”

“We kept him, yeah.”

“Why?” That’s what Liam really doesn’t get. He doesn’t understand the why. Tom was just a slave before. Why would Chris and Elsa care so much about Tom afterwards?

Chris shrugs, turns shy at what he says next. “We . . . we like him. We love him.”

“Love? You mean like . . .” He leaves the question hanging and gestures with his hands, because he can’t make himself say it. Chris nods, understanding his non-verbal cues.

“Oh. Excuse me.” Liam gets up and escapes to the kitchen.

* * *

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about,” Chris says.

“Who says I’m upset about anything?” Liam searches the cabinets for a glass. Chris directs him to the right one.

“Don’t lie to me. I know when you’re upset. Just tell me.”

Liam sputters a bit while he fills his glass with water and tries to think of an answer. “I just . . . don’t understand,” he finally says.

“Don’t understand what?”

“That you take in this slave and just make a place for him in your life? I don’t get it. You don’t owe him anything.”

Chris runs his hands through his hair. He’s about to say something before Tom walks into the kitchen.

“They didn’t owe me anything,” he says, and Liam feels like shrinking into the floor. “I was only meant to stay temporarily. Six weeks at the most. But they decided to keep me. It wasn’t out of pity or out of some need to give something back to me, although they did want to see me repaid in kindness after what had been done to me. They cared for me because they were kind and good people. And then they came to love me and I them. That is our story. It’s a love story. Plain and simple.”

Liam regrets everything he said. The walls are shrinking in on him and he knows he has to get out.

“’Scuse me,” he says, brushing past Tom with a quick ‘I’m sorry’ and then he’s out the door with his keys and wallet in hand.

He drives. He doesn’t go far, but the urge to drive is overwhelming after that stifling conversation. He shouldn’t have asked. He should’ve just let his curiosity wither and die away. He feels like an idiot, prying into something he has no business in knowing. But that’s always been his problem: getting into things he shouldn’t.

He drives to the nearest convenient store that sells cigarettes and buys a pack along with a lighter. It’s been years since he smoked, but after that whole fucked up situation back at the house, he needs something to calm his nerves.

Once he has what he wants, he drives away to an abandoned city lot to sit in peace and listen to the radio for a bit. He tilts his seat back and rolls the window down. The weather is warm and the sun is strong. It’s a perfectly perfect night for a smoke, so he revels in the sound of the lighter as he flicks it and the harmful smoke as it enters his body. He tips his head back and lets the music wash over him.

* * *

Music has always been Liam’s go-to to drown out the sound of his own conscience. He was always the brother who listened to music too loudly, the one who had to be reminded to turn it down. He used it to work, to study, to fill the solitary moments in his life. Then it was all taken for five years, and it nearly drove him up the wall.

He couldn’t sleep for the weeks he was at the slave center because it was all just unnerving silence. The routine, the chores, the etiquette. All of it was stifling. There was no spontaneity, no fun. Everything was contained within the cold hard lines of the system. When Liam was sold for the first time, reality sunk in and he was left reeling. It wasn’t that he couldn’t adapt—he did and quite well—it’s that he repeatedly pushed his boundaries because he could not live with the restraints placed upon him. Yes, he regretted getting into a car after having a few drinks (the crash could have been much worse but it wasn’t), but no matter how hard he tried he could not settle down.

His first owner was an owner a farm, a fruit farm with flat fields full of trees. He lived in a house with several other slaves, and together they worked from the ungodly hours in the morning until the job was done sometime in the later afternoon. The hours were long and unfulfilling. The housing was mediocre bordering on shabbiness, and the owner was often neglectful of his human charges. In short, his first experience as a slave was horrible, but he had to admit that he didn’t have high expectations for when he was bought.

The owner cared little for their needs and well-being. They were worked without consideration for their health, and Liam found himself battling colds and other illnesses from having to work in any and all weather conditions and having to make do with simple household remedies. The owner didn’t live near the slave house, and the landline they used to communicate with the owner was out of date and didn’t work some of the time. Liam used that phone to call his parents from time to time. It was for short conversations; he didn’t want to push his luck. It was nice to be able to hear his mother’s voice from time to time.

The reason why Liam left the phone and left behind the option to call his family was because of his owner’s neglect. After working in less than stellar conditions—it was early spring and the rains were still a bit cold—for three days, Liam fell dangerously ill. The illness then evolved into pneumonia and serious action had to be taken.

He was taken to the hospital, and later transferred to the slave center. Liam doesn’t know if his owner faced criminal action for working his slaves so hard, but Liam hopes that he faced _something_ for the neglect and utter disregard he showed for the slaves.

His first experience as a slave taught him that his sentence would be spent in isolation and inconsideration of his needs. He was second class, the lowest of the low. He had no rights, no identity, nothing to his name. He was just a good: KL-912. He hated every minute of it, and the moment the cuff was removed and he received his identification as a free man, he wanted nothing more than to forget it and leave it all behind.

Turns out, it’s never that simple.

* * *

Liam falls asleep in the car. When he wakes up, the sun has set and it’s nearly ten o’clock. He’s worried Chris enough, he decides. He checks his phone and sure enough there are five messages from his brother asking about his whereabouts. He throws it onto the passenger seat and decides to head home. He parks his car and enters the house and Chris is suddenly upon him.

“Where were you?” he asks.

Liam feels guilty. He worried Chris. “Out,” he supplies.

“I thought you left,” Chris admits.

“It’s not like I have anywhere to go. I just had to get out.”

He brushes past Chris and intends on heading upstairs and going to bed. Too much has happened today, and he’s absolutely exhausted.

“If you could just tell me next time,” he hears Chris say softly at the bottom of the stairs. “Just let someone know where you’re going and when . . . if you’ll come back.”

That’s something Liam has always done to those around him: make them worry unnecessarily. He should’ve told Chris what he was doing before he decided to run off. But he never thinks of the consequences of his actions. He only deals with the aftermath in his own way of brushing it all off and moving on. Which means, he doesn’t consider the feelings of others around him. They’re all collateral damage, and that’s something he really wants to change about himself, but he always falls back on bad habits.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Liam says before continuing his ascent.

“Goodnight,” Chris says.

“Goodnight.”

Liam knows he has a destructive personality. He just doesn’t know how to defuse it, or what he would do if anyone got caught up in his destruction.

* * *

After the disastrous first time experience as a slave that ended with Liam being in the hospital for two weeks, his second owners were a retired couple looking for some help around the house. He also acted as house sitter when the couple went off on yearly trips to their Florida house for the winter. They would be gone for three months at a time then, and had given him control of a specific bank account for any and all household essentials he might need while he was on his own. He was also there to take care of their pets: two Shitzus and a cat named Toby.

He hated it there. They didn’t mistreat him, no. They were very kind to him, kinder than he expected and deserved. But he was simply ignored and spent most of his time, the majority of his time, alone. He couldn’t talk to anyone. He couldn’t use the phone to call his family. He was alone for three months of the year with an allowance meant solely for food and common household items and feeding the pets. He wasn’t allowed use of the internet. They had no cable or satellite. He wasted away in their home, becoming a shell of his former self.

While his owners were kind to him and never punished him—only restricted him—he was nothing more than a slave to them. A slave who had no life beyond his owners and therefore was nothing more than a presence who only needed little consideration.

He stayed with them for two years until the husband died and the wife decided to move closer to her daughter. Liam had never been happier to set foot in a slave center. At least here he wasn’t ignored and could talk to other people if he felt like it. Here he wasn’t alone.

* * *

Friday is a rather quiet day. Liam sleeps in until ten because he can and for the partial reason of he doesn’t want to confront Chris. Not yet.

So he gets up and finds the house to be relatively quiet. Elsa is out on a grocery trip and Tom doesn’t have to work today, so he’s watching over the twins. Well, fuck. This isn’t what Liam wanted either. He remembers what Tom said the other day about his relationship with Chris and Elsa. It still baffles him that they would even want Tom to stay around. Liam knows that Chris is the most caring and compassionate one of them. Elsa is also a loving person who will reach out to those in need, so it’s not entirely inconceivable that they would let a slave live in their house after said slave has been freed. But all of that aside, taking in a slave and engaging in a relationship with that person is a foreign concept to Liam. Who would want that? Who would want to take on all the baggage and emotional negativity that comes with a slave? Liam can’t even stand himself; who would ever want him?

Elsa is gone until lunch, so Liam lurks around the house until then, uncomfortable to be in Tom’s presence for too long. He watches Tom with the twins in the backyard from the safety of the kitchen. Tom’s a natural with the kids. They readily reach out to him and play with him, squealing when he lifts them high in the year and giggling when he gives chase to them.

When lunch time arrives, Tom brings the twins in and Liam retreats to the living room to take advantage of the wifi to watch videos on his phone. He hears the front door open and looks up to see Elsa carrying in the groceries. He gets up to offer her help.

“Let me get that,” he says, stooping down to pick up the bags from the ground.

“Oh, thank you, Liam,” she says and heads out to get the next load.

After groceries, it’s lunch time for the five of them. They put everything away and pull out some options for the twins and for themselves. Elsa makes idle small talk with Liam, trying to make him more integrated into the house as best she can. It works until the twins have to go down for the nap a while later, because then Elsa is gone upstairs and Liam’s left alone with Tom.

Deciding to get it out of the way first, Liam apologizes. “Listen. I just want to say I’m sorry about the things I said last night. If they were offensive to you. I run my mouth sometimes and I don’t know when to stop talking, so I’m sorry.”

Tom smiles. “It’s perfectly all right,” he says. “The conversation was going to happen sooner or later.” He rests his hands on the table top where he’s looking at the crossword puzzle of the daily paper. That’s when Liam sees it. The ring. It’s on his right hand on his fourth finger. It’s not like the standard gold band wedding ring, but it’s a ring unlike any other. It’s a commitment ring. A love ring. A relationship ring. Tom notices his staring, and Liam blushes, looking away.

“It must be strange to come back after so many years and see all the changes,” Tom says.

“It wasn’t exactly the best five years of my life,” Liam says, sitting down across from him. “I’ll grant you that.”

Tom laughs bitterly. “Mine was twelve years.”

“How’d you end up here then? I assume you’re not local . . .”

Tom shakes his head. “I’m not. I travelled extensively during my sentence. Passed back and forth between owners until I was settled here for good. I was lucky to come to your brother. If I hadn’t been taken in by them, I would just be another slave in a foreign country with no assets, no education, nothing I could use to start over. Chris and Elsa gave me a place where I could start over safely with the support I needed. They didn’t have to, but they did.”

“Your . . . relationship,” Liam starts. He licks his lips and tires to figure out what he wants to ask. “I’m not even going to get into the whole _there’s-three-of-you_ thing, but I just want to know. Like, a relationship with a slave. What are . . . Like, how does that work?”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

Liam sighs and rests his head in his hands. “I don’t even know what I’m trying to ask. Look, I haven’t been able to make friends like I used to. I don’t know if they can tell I was a slave or if I act like a slave make them wary around me, but ever since I got out, I know things have changed.”

“Ahh. I see. You have trouble going out into public and acting like nothing has happened, like you didn’t just have yourself reduced to being someone’s object.”

“How do you do it? They treat you as equal, but it’s never going to be the same again.”

Tom is silent for a time and twists his ring around his finger. “It’s never easy,” he admits, not looking up from where he looks at the paper on the table. “There are so many habits I have to break free from just to be able to live like this, never mind being in a relationship. Being alone in public or in a crowd was just terrifying at first. I kept expecting someone from the center to show up and take me away and it would start all over again. It was easier when someone was near me that I knew, but that was limited to Chris and Elsa.”

“How did you manage?”

“I went to the after-care program the center advertises when you get your freedom. It helped me get to know people in the area like me and how to hone my social skills again. Suddenly I had the confidence to go outside on my own and talk to people on my own without feeling like I’m invisible to them still. I had connections, people I could go to and not feel like I was different or less. Because we were all slaves at one point, we could come together and help each other move on. Have you ever considered going to any of the after-care service meetings?”

Liam remembers the large folder he was given, filled with papers, and pamphlets about how to move on and coping services. He’s fairly certain the whole thing is somewhere in his room or he threw it out. Either way, he never looked through it to begin with.

“I never bothered looking into it,” he replies, tapping his fingers on the table top.

“Why not?”

Liam shrugs. “I just wanted to forget about it all and get my life back on track. I didn’t want to go back and deal with any of that anymore. I just wanted to move on.”

“I understand that,” Tom says softly. “I really do, but I do think you need some help. Things have changed since you left. You may need help coping with the changes and how to unlearn the behaviour you were taught to inhabit.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

Tom nods after a moment. “Just think about it, though. I know that the meetings in this area take place Friday nights. You could drive up and have dinner with us and head out after the meeting. They never take long. An hour, hour and a half. You could stay for the night and drive home on Saturday.”

Liam shakes his head. “I’m good, but thanks.”

“Yes, of course.”

* * *

Saturday is a fun filled day. Everyone is home and Tom doesn’t have to work, so the house is very much alive. Liam gets better acquainted with his nieces and nephews and they’ve started to take a liking to him. They aren’t as shy as before and are perfectly comfortable with calling him Uncle Liam (or Uncle Lee in the case of the twins).

Eventually, Chris and Liam start throwing around a football while the twins mill around them, trying to reach for it. India is on the deck with Elsa and Tom. Right now everything feels subdued, and Liam decides that it was an okay decision to come down here. Obviously he still feels a bit out of it, but he deserved the small break from his new life. He needed time to regroup his thoughts and plans on where he’s going in life.

“When do you plan on leaving tomorrow?” Chris asks.

“I don’t know,” Liam replies. “I haven’t really made any decisions, but sometime in the afternoon I guess.”

Chris nods and tosses the football back. “How’s home life treating you?”

“It’s all right. Mom and dad are thinking of moving. They say the house is too big for them.”

“What are they thinking then?”

“A smaller house in the suburbs, I think. They haven’t decided yet.”

Chris nods. “And you? Any plans?”

“Some. Once I get enough money I’ll probably move out to an apartment, get my own place and my own stuff.”

“Sounds good.”

Eventually they stop tossing the ball around to give more attention to the twins. They sit down on the grass and entertain the two young boys.

“Elsa and I are going out tonight,” Chris says suddenly as Tristan (at least, Liam thinks it’s Tristan) plops himself down on his father’s lap.

“Why?” Liam asks.

“It’s just a date. Just a night for the two of us to go out and have some time to ourselves. Tom will be home all night watching the kids.”

“Why aren’t you taking him with you?” Now Liam’s confused. He thought it was the three of them. Always the three of them. “I thought . . .” He loses his train of thought and just gives up.

“Sometimes me and Elsa want some alone time. And Tom doesn’t like going out into public with us when we’re all trying to be a . . . couple. He’s a bit shy about it.”

It makes sense. A bit. And Liam doesn’t know how society tolerates triad relationships these days. Are they more openly accepted, or are they still something unknown and secretive?

“Got it.”

“So,” Chris says, changing subjects. “What will you do tonight?”

Liam never thought about it before. He does have the chance of going out, and as much as he’s grown to like Tom, he’s not ready to spend a night with him looking after the kids.

“I might go out. Have a drink,” he says. “Got any good suggestions?”

“I’ve got a few.”

* * *

Chris and Elsa leave for dinner just after six. Liam stays for a while to help Tom with feeding the kids and getting them ready for bed. After that he’s out the door to have some fun and just enjoy himself for once. Enough of this second guessing and thinking he’s less and not worthy of being able to be like any other free person. It’s time he just let himself relax and enjoy his new found freedom.

Chris gave him some suggestions of places he could check out to have a little fun. Liam jots down the addresses and sets out around nine. The first bar he hits up is a success. He starts off alone, leaning up against the side of the bar with a beer. He only means to have a drink or two, chat it up with some strangers, and leave. He should ease himself into these types of scenes, right? He should take it easy.

“Excuse me.”

Liam looks down to see a petite brunette squeezing in beside him to reach the bar. He twists his body to give her some room.

“Sorry,” he says. “Let me give you some room here.”

“Thank you!” She smiles at him in thanks and he returns it. While she waits for her order to be filled, she looks up at him and says, “I haven’t seen you around here before. You new?”

“Just here for the weekend,” he replies.

“Just looking for a good time then?” she asks.

He nods. “Kind of.”

“Well, follow me, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends. The name’s Alysa, by the way.”

“Liam.”

He’s introduced to Alysa’s friends, and soon enough he’s actually enjoying himself. He’s swapping stories, talking about anything under the sun, and laughing. God. When was the last time he just went out for the hell of it? He used to do this so much before everything went downhill. And oh how he’s missed it.

Because he’s having such a good time with Alysa and her friends—none of them seem to know that he used to be slave—so he ignores his drink limit for now. Everyone’s friendly and like what he has to say. Soon he’s pulled onto the dance floor by Alysa and after a while gets another drink. He’s thirsty after all.

By the fourth drink, they’re back to talking and at the edge of the room. Now it’s just the two of them. Alysa is nice and relaxed around him. There’s distance between them, but Liam doesn’t mind. He’s just happy that he got to do this again; that he’s able to talk to someone without an inhibitions or worries. This is just conversation at its finest.

He has a few more drinks and that’s when things start to get hazy. He starts to lose track of time and what’s happening around him. He and Alysa get closer, drift towards each other, and soon they’re outside the bar, wrapped up in each other. Their kisses are drunk and sloppy. They’re all open mouthed and their hands are all over each other. They decide to go back to Alysa’s place. They take a cab and are joined at the hip all the way there. As soon as they enter her apartment, they start all over, grinding against each other, licking each other’s mouth.

The next few minutes or hour are positively patchy. But they start removing clothing. He gets his shirt off and resumes his exploration of her body. The light isn’t all that great, but when he leans over her, she has a perfect view of his tattoo.

Alysa laughs. It might be the alcohol. It might not. “You’re a slave?”

He feels like he’s been dunked in cold water.

“Trying your luck with free women?” She laughs again. “Okay, okay. Let’s do this. Never fucked a slave before. First time for everything, I guess.”

He doesn’t want to be in this room anymore. So he rolls away, searching the floor for his shirt.

“Don’t take it so personal,” she says. “Come on. We can play some games if you’d like. I can be your ‘master.’” She breaks off into another round of giggling.

He’s had enough at this point. He gets his shirt on and leaves the apartment, not exactly sure if the door closed or not, but at this point he doesn’t really care. He just needs to get away from this place. He needs to leave.

He gets out of the building somehow. When he’s on the street, he realizes that he has no idea where he is. He doesn’t remember where he parked. He doesn’t even know where he is. He’s a stranger in this city. How is he going to get home?

He pulls out his phone. He needs to call someone. Anyone. He scrolls through his contacts, which is pitifully small, and remembers that Chris and Elsa are out for the night. The only person at home would be Tom. He dials, because he needs to get away from here. He really needs help.

“Hello?” Tom answers (thank God).

“I need your help.”

“Liam? Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I-I don’t know where I am. I need help.”

“Okay, okay. I need you to calm down. Can you tell me where you are?” His voice is so calm. It soothes Liam, but he’s in a drunken panic. He feels sick and just wants to be home right now.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s okay. Can you find a street sign for me? An intersection perhaps?”

He nods more to himself. He finds an intersection and repeats the street names.

“All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can. You stay there, and I’ll bring the car around.”

“Can you stay on the line? Please?” Because he needs that gentle voice, those calm reassurances.

“I have to get someone to watch the house first,” he says. “But I will call you right back as soon as I get in the car, all right? Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

He hangs up, and he’s left in an unnerving silence. There are others walking the street. It’s not even that late, just past eleven thirty. He wonders if they know, if they can sense that he’s a former slave. He wonders if the way he holds himself is somehow making himself more noticeable to the people; that they know he was caught and punished for his mistakes. He keeps his eyes on the ground, leaning against the light pole. He wishes there were a bench nearby so he could sit down. He feels like he might topple any second.

As he waits for Tom’s phone call, he can’t help but think about that woman, the brunette. He wonders if she’ll tell her friends about this, about the slave that freaked in her bed. What did she mean by what she said? Were slaves and free people not meant to mingle after the sentence was served? Were they not allowed to build lasting friendships or interact with each other?

The phone in his hand rings. Right. Tom. He answers it.

“All right I’m on my way. Shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get there. Just stay where you are.”

They don’t talk much about what happened. He doesn’t want to. Instead Tom goes on about mundane things, talking about where he is and how long it’ll take. Soon enough, the car pulls up, and he gets into the passenger seat.

“Enough adventure for one night, I think,” says Tom and puts the car into drive.

They get home at a good time, and Tom’s there all the way to get Liam into the spare bedroom. He even brings up a glass of water and tells Liam that he’ll just be down the hall in Chris and Elsa’s room should Liam needs him for anything. The fact that Tom’s in his brother’s bedroom right now should make him think about the nature of their relationship. But he’s drunk and tired and fuck—

* * *

Liam sleeps sporadically that night. He wakes up several times disoriented and on the verge of thinking that his freedom is all just a dream. It takes touching his wrist to ensure that the cuff was taken off. And then he remembers that he’s at Chris’s for some vacation time or soul searching or whatever he’s doing here.

He wakes up fully with the blankets wrapped tightly around his legs and a drying layer of sweat on his skin. He goes to the bathroom first to empty his bladder, shower, and make himself look less like he got smashed and more like he’s a responsible drinker.

At least he didn’t hurl in Tom’s car. That wouldn’t have been nice.

He stumbles down with a dry mouth and sensitive eyes to get some coffee. Breakfast is long since

finished, and Chris is the only one in the kitchen: putting away food, cleaning dishes, and wiping down counter tops.

“Good morning,” he says when he looks up from his work. “Sleep well?” The corner of his mouth is lifted in a small smirk.

Liam assumes that Tom told Chris nothing about the panicked state he was in when he was picked up. So he just smiles and says, “Well enough.”

“Good night?”

“It was all right. It was nice to get out of the house for a while.”

Chris nods. “Sounds good.” He doesn’t ask any more questions about the night, for which Liam grateful. He doesn’t want Chris to worry about him anymore. He’s caused his family enough grief.

* * *

Sunday is a relaxed day where Chris spends some of his time catching up with some work, Elsa checks over India’s schoolwork progress, and Tom watches over the twins. Before lunch, Tom approaches Liam on his own and offers Liam a ride to get his car back. Liam accepts.

The ride is a short but awkward affair that has Liam looking out the window the entire time. It’ll be better if they just forget about this.

“About last night,” Tom says and Liam groans inside his head. “Would you like to talk about it?”

He might as well talk about it. Tom really is the only one who understands his position. He’d be the best one to talk to.

“Got drunk, made out with some chick, she said some things when she saw my tattoo, and I freaked,” he says. “That’s about it.”

“What did she say that made you leave?”

Liam shrugs. “I don’t really remember what she said. It’s just she looked at it and laughed at me. I thought we were having a good time before, thought she actually liked me, but she didn’t . . .”

“See past the numbers,” Tom supplies and Liam nods.         

“Yeah. That’s basically it. I just couldn’t stay there after that. So I got up and left and that was that.”

They track down Liam’s car and they park right behind it. Liam doesn’t get out of the car right away. He waits because he knows Tom is going to say something. And he actually does want to hear what Tom has to say about this entire mess.

“Things will change for you,” Tom says. “You can’t go back to what you want your life to be. That’s something you have to accept. You have to accept that people will look at you differently and treat you differently. That’s just a fact of life at this point. Eventually you’ll learn to accept that this has happened to you; that it is a part of you now, and it has shaped you. You’ll find your own ways to cope and to adjust to your new life. You’ll find people like you or people who will accept you for who you are. Would you like to come with me to the meeting next week? See what it’s all about?”

Liam rests his hand on the door handle. He fishes out his keys and then nods. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

 

 

They head home together, and thankfully Chris doesn’t ask any questions about it. Liam spends the rest of the day a little more relaxed. He enjoys the last few hours of his time before he has to leave. He packs up his stuff and says his goodbye to the kids. They’ve grown accustomed to him, so they all give him a quick hug before they run off. Elsa smiles at him, thanks him for coming by, and gives him a hug. Tom shakes his hand, saying how nice it was to finally meet him and a ‘see you around?’ with a hopeful lilt at the end. Liam simply nods and smiles. “Yeah, we’ll see,” is all he says.

Chris walks him to his car to have final words. “I’m really glad you came down,” he says. “It was nice to see you. I wanted to see you sooner, planned to come down to see you and mom and dad. But I just—” He runs his hands through his hair. “I didn’t know what I would say or do when I saw you. And I’m afraid I might lose you again. And I don’t want that to happen.”

“It won’t,” Liam says. He lost his family once. He does not fancy losing them again and losing everything else with them. “I’m done with . . . all that stuff. I don’t plan on turning back to it.”

Chris nods. “That’s good to hear. I’m happy to know you’re doing all right and that you accept Tom’s place in our life. It means a lot to me, to us that you’re okay with him around.”

“Tom’s a great guy. He’s given me some advice about a few things. He’s great. Honestly.”

Chris smiles. “That means a lot to me. It really does.” He steps forward and wraps Liam up in his arms and holds him close.

Liam returns the hug where before he probably would’ve shrugged out of it. He should really stop taking these things for granted. It’s nice to have them again.

“Have a safe trip, yeah?” Chris says, thumping Liam’s back as they pull away.

“Yeah, thanks.” Liam opens his car and chucks his bag into the passenger seat before sitting down in the driver’s.

“Take care,” Chris says. “And don’t be a stranger.”

“Believe me. Soon you’ll want to get rid of me.”

Chris smiles and waves goodbye as Liam backs out of the driveway and onto the road. Liam waves back as he drives out of sight, hand dropping for the radio as soon as he can. The drive may be a long one, but Liam hasn’t felt this good in years.

* * *

After dinner on the road and a quick shower beforehand, Liam chucks his overnight bag into his car and says goodbye to his parents. He spends the next two hours on the road and drives to the address on the piece of paper he has sitting on his dashboard. He parks his car in the parking lot next to the community center that the meeting is being held in. He gets out and walks into the building, heading to the large hall that has been set up with small groupings of chairs and refreshment tables. There’s a table with markers and ‘My name is’ stickers. He picks one up and writes down his name and sticks it on the front of his shirt.

There’s already a grouping of people here. About twenty people here, so it looks to be a pretty good turnout. Tom is already here. He sees Liam before Liam sees him and walks forward to say hello.

“Liam!” he says. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you made it.”

“Well, I thought I’d give it a try,” Liam says. “See what all the fuss is about. Plus the ’rents think it’s a good idea for me to come down every weekend. Give me something to do and keep me busy.” It was Liam’s idea to begin with, that he go to Chris’s on the weekend. It’ll be nice to spend some time away from his childhood home and more time with his brother while he saves up to invest in his own place.

“Does Chris know you’re coming over tonight?”

Liam nods. “Told him a few days ago. He’s up for it as long as we decide to do this.”

“Well, I’m very glad to have you here.” Tom smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling a little bit. “I’m one of the group leaders tonight, if you want to stick by my side.”

“Sounds good. When do we get started?”

“A few minutes yet. Come introduce yourself there’s a few people here I want you to meet.”

Tom leads him to the large grouping of people who are at the refreshment table. Liam is introduced to a few people before they decide to split up into groups and have their meeting.

Tom leads the group really well. He asks questions that are non-invasive but still reach the heart of the matter that affects many ex-slaves: human interaction. They go around the circle and introduce themselves and their struggles adapting to having freedom once more. It’s nice to hear that Liam isn’t alone in this journey. Suddenly he has coping techniques he can employ in order to move past all former hang ups and regain his self-confidence and worth. It may not really be Liam’s thing, but he knows being here will help him understand that this is a part of his life and that there is help should he need it.

The meeting ends and before they leave, everyone gets together for refreshments and getting to know one another. Liam finds himself growing relaxed around these people. At least here he doesn’t have to worry about his past being found out. Here everyone knows they’ve been slaves. They are all equal here. There are no social stigmas or hang ups. It’s nice for once to be able to go up to someone and just talk like two people.

It may only be six and half months since Liam got his cuff taken off, but he’s certain that from here on out he’s going to be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo I only have one more one shot planned before this series is finished. It's going to a smutty threesome fic. That's all I'm going to give you for now.


End file.
